Princess and the Koopa
by WingedFish
Summary: When her father goes missing, Zelda's world suddenly get flipped upside down when she finds herself trapped inside an enchanted castle, ruled by a monstrous being. But can she see past his tough exterior and show him what it means to look within? Based on Beauty and the Beast.
1. Chapter 1

Princess and the Koopa.

**After a long week, I'm finally back! While I was away, I kept thinking of new ideas to write about. Then I watched Beauty and the Beast, and the idea hit me. Thus _Princess and the Koopa _was born. So I'll start writing this along with my other main story plus the odd funny oneshot here and there. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! **

Prologue

Centuries ago, deep in a mysterious forest, there was a great castle ruled by a selfish young prince. He was to be raised as a kind and just ruler. But after his parents died prematurely when he was but a child, over time he became spoiled and prideful.

One night, during a fierce winter storm, an old woman knocked on the prince's castle door, asking for shelter from the bitter wet and cold weather. Seeing the ugly haggard appearance of the weary traveler, he told her to leave. But then the old lady held out a single, bright orange flower as a token to the prince, warning him to not be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And once again he rejected her.

This time the repulsive elderly woman showed her true form, a beautiful young enchantress with long flowing green hair, a shining white robe, and a golden staff topped with a glowing blue orb. Upon seeing the old woman transform into her true self, the prince bowed and begged for forgiveness, but it was too late. The enchantress had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she cursed the prince and turned him into a hideous reptilian beast, and put a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there.

Ashamed of his horrific form, the monster concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror serving as his only window to the outside world. The orange flower the enchantress offered, was truly magical, for it would bloom until the prince's twenty-first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return, before the flower had completely wilted, spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a monster for all time.

As the years past, he fell into despair, and lost all hope. For who could ever learn, to love a monster?

Present Day

The sun slowly rose above the small village. It was fall, and the trees were all various shades of yellow, orange, and red. And walking on a path towards the small village, there was a beautiful young maiden with long hair as brown as the earth beneath her feet. She wore a simple white dress with a rectangular piece of intricately designed fabric going down the middle, with brown boots that matched her hair covering her feet. It was Zelda, the twenty year-old daughter of the local inventor.

Zelda was on her way to do the daily errands in town while her father worked on his latest contraption. She passed by the waking buildings, listening to the all-too-familiar "hellos", "good mornings", and "how are yous" that she had been hearing for as long as she could remember.

"There must be more then this simple life." She said to herself. Tired of the same old routine, she longed for change from the dull, unchanging atmosphere she has lived with since being born.

Not needing to get anything in particular today, Zelda headed for the town's little library. Considering she was one of the only people in the town that used it, she had a deep passion for reading; the rest of the folks around her thought the young maiden rather odd.

"It must be because her father is not all right in the head as well." Some would say. There was no question, Zelda and her father were different then the others.

Entering the library, Zelda came up to the store's owner, Olimar. He was a rather short man, with squinty eyes, almost no hair on his head except for three small brown tufts, and an amusing personality. Nobody is sure where he came from. Five years ago he showed up at the town, set up the library, and that was that.

When asked where exactly he came from, he answered with an air of mystery, "A distant land."

Since having met him, Zelda had come to know the bookkeeper quite well, and always visited him whenever she came into town.

"Hello Olimar." She greeted cheerfully, "Got any new books for me?"

The librarian gave Zelda a smile and replied, "Nope, not since yesterday."

"Oh, well I'll just take this one." Zelda said as she pulled a blue book from a shelf.

"But you've read it three times already!"

"I know, but I just can't put it down! It has knights and spells and castles. I love it!"

Rubbing his chin, Olimar decided to let her keep the book, seeing as how much she liked it.

"Oh no I couldn't!" She declined.

"Oh but I insist. Take it."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you!" Leaving the library, with her new book in hand, Zelda started back home.

Keeping her eyes glued to the pages, the young maiden didn't notice the odd stares people would give her. Not that she would have cared anyway if she did know.

Reaching the edge of town, Zelda heard a gun shot piercing though the quiet, peaceful air. Ignoring it, she continued on her way.

Meanwhile, a flock of geese were flying south for the winter, only one wasn't going to make it that far. It had been shot, and was falling toward the ground.

Once the bird hit the earth, a portly man with a zig-zag moustache wearing a yellow shirt with purple overalls came up to put it in a bag. Upon doing so, he returned to a random building a little ways off from where he had collected his prize. Standing under it was a tall, well built man with blonde hair. He wore a tight leather outfit with bronze colored huntsman boots, along with a belt to hold his hand gun, which he had used to bring down the goose previously mentioned.

"Wow, you never miss a shot Captain Falcon!" The shorter man congratulated. "You're the greatest hunter in the whole world!"

Blowing the smoke away from his gun, Falcon replied with a smug smirk, "I know Wario."

Continuing his praise, Wario said, "No beast alive stands a chance against you! And no girl for that matter!"

"It's true Wario." Falcon said. "And I've got my sight set on that one." He added as he pointed his gun toward Zelda, who was several feet away.

"The inventor's daughter?" Wario questioned.

"She's the one, the lucky girl I'm going to marry."

"Yes, but-but she." But Captain Falcon ignored his companion's stuttering and walked over to Zelda.

"Good morning Zelda." He said with fake sweetness.

"Good morning Falcon." Zelda replied, not looking away from her book. _"Not him again…"_

Falcon grabbed the book from her hands, a sly smirk on his face.

"Captain Falcon may I have my book please?"

"How can you read this? There's no pictures!" He said as he skimmed though the pages.

"Well some people use there imagination."

Falcon gave her an annoyed look and tossed the book into a muddy puddle behind him. Before Zelda could reach for the blue covered object, he stepped right in front of it. "Zelda, you need to get your head out of those books and think about more important things. Like me."

Going around and getting her book, Zelda continued on her way. "I'm really sorry, but I've got to get back home and help my father, good by."

Wario suddenly jumped forward. "Ha! Mario, that crazy old loon! He'll need all the help he can get!" At this statement he and Falcon started laughing hysterically.

"Hey don't talk about my father that way!" Zelda shouted in defense.

"Yeah, don't talk about her father that way!" Captain Falcon quickly added as he conked Wario on the head.

"My father is a genius! He's not crazy!" at these words an explosion, followed by a cloud of smoke, burst from her cottage that was just a stone's throw away. Running towards it, she left behind the two obnoxious men, who continued laughing.

Upon reaching her humble little home, she immediately went down to the cellar, where she knew her father would be working. Coughing from the dusty smoke, she found him stuck in a barrel, grumbling unmentionable words.

After Zelda helped him out, the inventor exclaimed, "I'll never get this stupid machine to work!" Mario had been trying to build an automatic wood-cutter, but so far all it had managed to do was blow up. He wore brown work shoes, a red shirt that wasn't tucked in all the way, and blue overalls with one strap undone.

Walking up behind her father, putting her hands on his shoulders, Zelda said with a reassuring voice, "Yes you will Papa, and you'll win first prize at the fair tomorrow."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I don't see why not!"

With new found vigor, Mario jumped up with glee. "Well, what are we waiting for? I'll have this thing up and running in no time! Hand me that wrench will you?"

After getting under the machine to make adjustments, Mario asked, "So, did you have fun in town today?"

"I guess." Zelda said solemnly. Thinking for a moment, she asked him her own question. "Papa, do you think I'm weird?"

Coming out from under the wood-cutter, Mario wore a pair of magnifying goggles, giving him a rather strange appearance. "My daughter, weird? Where would you get an idea like that?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's just that I don't have anyone to talk to."

"How about that Captain Falcon fella? He's nice and handsome."

Rolling her eyes, Zelda added, "Yes, and conceded and rude and stuck-up. No, he's not for me."

Climbing out once again from under the machine, Mario said. "Alright, let's give it a try." Pulling down the lever, they both stood back and held there ears, bracing for the worst.

The contraption shuddered and shook, spouting steam and smoke as all the mechanical parts started to operate. After a few tense seconds, the ax situated on the front of the invention swung down, chopping the wood blow it.

"It works! It works!" Mario shouted with joy. "I'm off to the fair!"

A few minutes later, the invention was strapped to a cart, which was to be pulled by Epona, the family's faithful horse.

"So long Papa! Good luck!" Zelda called as she waved her hand good by.

"Good by Zelda! Take care of things while I'm gone!" And with that, he was on his way.

**Yeah, I don't think I did my best here. But whatever, I'm sure things will get better once the story gets going. Remember to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Ugh, I apologize for the long overdue update. I just have not had much motivation lately. And I'm aware that the previous chapter was way too similar to the movie. While it is kind of the point for this to be similar, I must agree that I needed to change things up a bit. And so I have! As you'll see in this chapter, I've improved quite a bit with this fic, so read on! **

"Ah, what a long weekend." Mario sighed. He had been at the fair for two days, and had won first place for Best Invention with his wood-chopping machine. As a prize, he received another new invention made by the top scientists of the country. It was a strange object, looking like water tank with a long metal "neck" with a nozzle on the top, and a pair a handles with a belt strap on either side. The inventors of the odd contraption named it F.L.U.D.D., which stood for Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device. It was said by it's creators to be the future of portable gardening, firefighting, and power washing.

Having just left the fairgrounds with his winning and newly won inventions, Mario urged Epona the horse onward from his seat on the cart. They went on through the day for a time, then the sun started to wane, taking its warm yellow glow with it. Being steadily replaced with night's haunting darkness, the once bright and cheerful forest they approached on the road slowly became dim and unwelcoming. As it got all the more colder, snow began to fall in vast quantities, quickly blanketing everything in a carpet of pure white. But still the two went on.

Reaching a crossroads deep in the woods, Mario put up his lamp to see the inscriptions on the small wooden signs that pointed to different directions. But they have been there for so long, the weather had slowly rotted away at wood, and it was so dark in the depths of the vast forest that Mario couldn't read them.

"Hmm, where should we go?" the inventor pondered. The flame of the oil lamp in his cast an eerie glow upon the giant bare trees that surrounded him, making strange shadows dance in the twilight.

Epona looked down the road to her left, which was welcoming and looked peaceful with the sounds of chirping birds returning to their nests for the night in the distance. Looking to the other, it was as black as black can be, almost dead silent expect for the occasional noises of the unknown creatures that lurked there. Quickly turning her head back to the more welcoming path, the horse started to head off in that direction.

"No Epona, let's go this way. It's a short cut! I'm sure of it!" Mario said as he pulled on the reins.

After a minute of struggling, the equine finally reluctantly gave in and headed down the dark road. Things didn't seem too bad for a few minutes, until the two started to hear strange growls drifting though the night air. Spooked, Epona started to back away from the sounds in panic.

Mario tried to maintain the frightened animal. "Epona, Epona calm down!"

But another growl resounded quite close by, and that was all it took to send the horse, with cart, inventor, and machines in tow, careening down the path.

"Whoa girl! Slow down!" Mario shouted. But the horse wouldn't listen, and continued running at full speed.

"Ahhh!" With a sharp turn, Mario went flying out of the cart, landing head first into pile of snow. Looking up, he saw the back of the wooden cart disappear swiftly into the snowy distance, the silhouettes of several small two legged creatures jumping out from the forest running after it.

"Epona? Epona?" the frightened inventor called out. Realizing that he was all alone in the dimly lit night, Mario started to walk though the snow by himself.

"Grrr. Grrr!"

Mario quickly turned around, and threw his eyes wide open in a panic. Just behind him was a pack of strange three foot tall creatures that had a pair of legs with two sharp toes on each foot. Rather round with a triangular head, what was really distressing was there mouths, which had a big fang on either side of their gaping maws.

Staring back at the inventor with large eyes on odd stalk-like structures, the unknown creatures slowly approached Mario with open jaws.

Still not sure what these animals were, Mario quietly backed away from them. Suddenly, one of the carnivores briefly turned its back to him, and with the dim moonlight shining through the mighty trees, Mario could just make out its red rump with white spots. It was then that he knew what these creatures were.

"Bulborbs!" he practically screamed, and started running in the opposite direction of the monstrous grub-dogs.

With a roar, the bulborbs chased after their victim, the sign of desperate hunger clearly evident on their stalked eyes.

Mario run as fast as he could, crashing though bush and tree branch alike. _"I must not stop moving! Or else I'll be bulborb food!"_ But the vicious animals were hot on his tail, snapping like mouse traps. Just when it seems he would never get out alive, Mario finally saw a break in the dense forest and headed for it. Once he reached it, the inventor let out a loud gasp.

Rising high above him was a grand castle, adorned with numerous towers. Some were so tall they seemed to touch the moon high in the dark starlit sky. Looking back down, he noticed a tall black fence with an extravagant gate. Taking a glance behind him, Mario saw the bulborbs were almost upon him, so making a mad dash for the gate, he opened and closed it, going through just before the grub-dogs could grab him. Stopping to catch his breath, the inventor shrieked as one determined bulborb bit down of his foot.

"Ah! Get off me!" he shouted in fear. Shaking the animal away, the inventor's bright red cap fell off during the scramble, but he was too panicked to notice.

Continuing to walk toward the castle, he went across a long, wide stone bridge. It was built over a deep gorge, so deep, that Mario couldn't see the bottom when he looked over the side. Shivering from both fear and bitter cold, Mario ambled along to the massive door. Once there, he saw many statues around him depicting walking mushrooms with fangs, turtles with a pair of shoes walking upright, bigger shoe-wearing turtles wielding hammers, plants with sharp toothed mouths, and other strange figures.

"What kind of whacky place is this?" he said to himself. Finally knocking on the door, he waited for several minutes. Hearing nothing, he slowly opened the door and walked in timidly, his footsteps echoing off the cold dark marble floor beneath him. It was a big place, with a giant lobby area that went down to a wide staircase that split into two separate ones, going up in opposite directions. There were a couple openings in the sides of the hall that led to other rooms as well.

"Hello? Anyone home?" he said. But there was no answer. Coming inside a little more, he continued to call out.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude, but I've lost my way and I need a place to rest for the night."

Unknown to him, his calls have been heard. An upright walking turtle peered from behind a wall that led to one of the other various rooms. "Come over hear sir."

Whipping his head around, Mario tried to locate the voice. "Hello? Where are you?"

"Over hear sir. Come sit by the fire."

Looking to the left, he saw a roaring fire in a grand fireplace, and walked toward it. Seeing a tall backed, comfortable looking chair, Mario sat down on it in front of the warm fire. Unable to see anything well beyond the fire's flickering light, he still hadn't seen his polite host. That is until it came up next to him unseen.

"Hello sir."

Mario nearly jumped out of his skin; it was an upright walking, talking turtle! "_Just like the statues next to the doors!"_ he thought to himself in amazement.

"Oh my, you are chilled to the bone good sir. Chain Chomp!" the turtle called.

Less then a minute later, a small ball with a mouth, eyes and sharp teeth came bounding in next to the chair Mario was sitting. It had a short chain attached to its rear end, and on the other end of this chain was a little cart with a cup of steaming tea and a blanket.

"Bark bark!" it said.

After thanking the living metal ball, the turtle took the blanket and tea, giving the items to a grateful Mario.

A moment later, a strange creature resembling a mushroom, only this one had a mouth and feet, came running in, bumping into the turtle.

"K.T.! We're not allowed to have guests!" the mushroom shouted. "The master forbids it!"

"Relax Bamoog. He came in from the bitter cold asking for a place to stay. Surely he won't be too much of a bother." The turtle apparently named K.T. replied.

Bamoog looked around the turtle, seeing Mario sipping tea while sitting in the big chair. "Your letting him sit in the master's chair!" he screamed. "And allowed him to have some tea!"

Shrugging his shoulders, K.T. gave the mushroom and off-sided look. "He was shivering, so I had the Chain Chomp bring him some tea to warm up."

"But you've broken the rules! The master is going to be furious about this!"

"Who says he's going to find out?"

"I do, because the master knows everything that goes on around here!"

Before the two could argue more, the loud bang of an opening door resounded through the room while snuffing the fire, causing the pair of bickering creatures to quiet down immediately. The Chain Chomp, who was at this point still at Mario's side, quickly bounded off, whimpering in fear.

Mario himself felt the hairs of the back of his neck stand straight up, hearing a gruff voice just behind him say, "There's a stranger here."

Bamoog took this moment to speak up. "Uh, master, I'd just like to say that I had nothing to with this, I tried to tell him, but no he wouldn't listen to me…" Before he could say more, a powerful roar from the mysterious being made the mushroom cower in fear, afraid to say anything else.

Mario looked to his left, finding nothing there. Looking to his right, he came face to face with a hideous creature. It's head was huge, with a large mouth filled with many pointed teeth. A pair of bull-like horns projected from the monster's head, partially covered by the fiery red hair that grew just above its murderous blood red eyes.

Jumping out of the chair, Mario quickly backed up in a panic, getting a more complete picture of the monster before him. It looked like a cross between a turtle and a dragon, with a spiked green shell, sharp clawed hands and feet, and short tail, also adorned with spikes.

"Who are you?" Mario asked fearfully.

"The master of this castle." The reptilian being said with a menacing growl.

"Please, I didn't mean to intrude. I just needed a place to stay for the night!"

Grabbing the inventor's shirt, the monster replied in his deep voice, "A place to stay huh? I'll give you a place to stay!" And with that, he carried the hapless man away into the darkness, leaving his two dumbfounded subjects behind.

**I personally am very satisfied with this chapter, definitely one of the better pieces I've written in a while. Yeah, about the whole bulborb thing, I've been playing Pikmin 2 lately and wanted to put something from that (awesome) game in here, and what more unique creatures to replace the wolves with then them? Also in case you wanted to know, K.T. stands for Koopa Troopa, and Bamoog is Goomba spelled backwards (not very creative I know, but I couldn't think up any real names). But other then that, I'll leave it to you to guess which characters are matched to their movie's counterparts. I'll try to update sooner next time. Until then, make sure to review! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**After well over a week, I'm back! Why have I not updated anything for so long? Three words, lack of motivation. That was it. I had all the time in the world to write, but I just could not find the inspiration to do so for the longest time. But at last I have broken the streak of undone updates, and what's more, it's with the story that has had the longest time without a new chapter!**

Morning rose to find the peaceful village waking up to its usual routine. Zelda slowly opened her blue eyes to the bright sunlight streaming though her bedroom window.

"Another typical day." She said while climbing out from under the covers. Heading towards the bathroom, she washed her face with the bucket water. Looking in the mirror, she fixed a few strands of brown hair hanging down in front of her eyes and put them along with the rest of her hair into a bun on the back of her head. "There, now to start with the daily chores."

Zelda's chores mainly consisted of taking care of the cottage's livestock, in this case, feeding the chickens and mucking out Epona's stall. Since the horse was not present, Zelda didn't have too much to do this morning. Walking outside, she filled her apron with poultry feed and started to gently toss it by hand for the grateful birds, who thanked her with happy clucks.

"Surely there must be more to do in the world then just this." Zelda pondered as she finished her task. Walking back inside, she grabbed a book, and started to read.

Meanwhile, Captain Falcon and his portly cohort, Wario, were watching the maiden from the tall bushes, snickering amongst themselves.

"Alright Wario, have you told the others yet?"

The short mustached man looked up with a big grin. "Yep, they should all be here any minute." As if on cue, practically the whole town started showing up on Zelda's front yard.

"Okay everyone!" Falcon announced. "Here is the plan!"

Half-an Hour Later

"Now you Wario, when Zelda and I come out the door…" Falcon started to say.

"Oh yeah I know!" Wario interrupted, "I start the band!" Proceeding to swing the baton in his hand, the band in front of him started to play (a rather off-key) version of 'Here Comes the Bride', only for Captain Falcon to slam a tuba onto his head.

"Not yet you idiot!"

In an echoing voice, Wario apologized, "Sorry."

Zelda was almost finished reading her book, when she heard a knock on the door. "Who could that be?" she asked herself. Looking though the door's peephole, she saw it was the last person she wanted to see. Ever.

"Not Falcon again." Rolling her eyes, Zelda reluctantly opened the door, allowing the obnoxious man inside. "Captain Falcon, what a pleasant surprise!" But despite her tone, Zelda was anything but pleased by Falcon's presence.

"Do you think so? Glad I can still surprise you!" Falcon said arrogantly. Continuing to barge into the maiden's house, the racer leaned on a dresser that stood in the hallway. "You know Zelda, there isn't another girl in town who wouldn't LOVE to be in your shoes. This is the day…" Pausing to look in the dresser's mirror, Falcon checked he teeth for a full ten seconds.

"_Ugh, even when he tries to be neat he's still repulsive!"_

"Ah, anyway, this is the day that all your dreams come true!"

Zelda started backing up from Falcon's advances. "And just what do you know about my dreams?"

"Plenty." Walking up to a chair, Falcon sat on it and propped his feet on a nearby table. "Here, picture this. My rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill on the fire," As he droned on, the racer kicked off his boots, smelling up the room with his putrid socks. "My wife massaging my feet, while the little ones play with the dogs."

Zelda quickly pinched her nose so she wouldn't breathe in the toxic fumes coming from Falcon's nasty soles.

"And we'll have six or seven." Falcon added.

"Dogs?" Zelda asked, although she knew all to well what her caller meant.

"No silly, strapping young boys like me!"

"Imagine that…"

"And do you know who that little wife is gonna be?"

Stepping to the bookshelf next to the table, Zelda said with her back turned and her eyes wide open, "Let me think."

Falcon suddenly got up and walked over to the maiden, looming over her with a creepy look on his face. "YOU!"

Zelda then quickly started walking backwards toward the door, Falcon following her every move. "Oh that's really nice of you but," reaching the doorknob, she put her hand on it, ready to twist. "I just don't deserve you!" And with that, she swiftly opened the door, just as Falcon lunged for her.

"Ahh!" Falcon yelled as he flew through the door and into a pool of muddy water, Zelda shutting the door behind him after throwing out his boots.

Wario quickly ran up to his fallen buddy. Helping him out of the mud, he asked sarcastically, "So, how did it go?"

The racer grabbed Wario by his shirt collar and raised him up to eye level. "I'll have Zelda as my wife, make no mistake about that!" And with that, he threw Wario into the mud before storming off.

"Hmm, I guess it didn't go well." The biker huffed.

1 Hour Later

"Papa should be home by now, where is he?" Zelda asked herself. She was scanning the horizon, hoping to see father coming down the dirt road. A few seconds later, she saw a figure running down the path. "Oh good, that must be him now."

But when the figure came closer, Zelda knew something was wrong. For it was in fact Epona, but it was _only_ Epona! There was no invention, no cart, and most worryingly, no Mario.

The horse ran up to the maiden in a panic, fear clearly visible on the animal's eyes. "Epona! Epona where is papa?" Zelda grew more worried by the second. "Epona, you must take me to him!"

Running back into the house to grab a cloak, she returned and mounted the steed with a flick of her feet, and rode off in the direction the animal had come from.

After a long, cold, snow covered ride that stretched from noon to dark, the pair had at last arrived at the mysterious castle. "What is this place?" Zelda said to no one in particular. Riding up to the black wrought-iron gate, she noticed Mario's cap on the other side. Dismounting Epona, she swung the fence open and picked it up, confirming that her father had passed by here. "Papa…"

Leaving Epona in the courtyard, a shivering Zelda walked up to the castle's massive doors. After knocking a few times, she entered and was slightly frightened by the numerous stone statues depicting bizarre creatures that littered the building's hallway.

"Hello? I'm looking for my father! I believe he went by here and I need to find him!"

Meanwhile on the second floor of the castle, K.T. and Bamoog were arguing.

"I told you it was a bad idea to let that man in! But no, let's just let him inside and treat him like royalty!" the mushroom yelled.

"I was just trying to be hospitable." K.T. responded.

Then they heard an unfamiliar voice that made them quiet down immediately. "Did you hear that?" the turtle asked cautiously.

"Of course I did you idiot, I'm not deaf." Bamoog replied rudely.

Peeking over the balcony that looked over the hallway, the duo saw a young maiden walking up the stairs.

"It's a girl!" K.T. announced.

"Oh really Captain Obvious, I thought it was a dog."

"Don't you see? She is it, the one we have been waiting for!" the turtle then grabbed a torch that was hanging on a wall and sped off, leaving his smart mouth fungus friend behind before he could make another snide remark.

Zelda was slowly making her way up the red carpeted stairs, looking all around for signs of residence in this dark place. Seeing a moving, flickering light, she walked towards it curiously. "Wait, I'm trying to find my father. Can you help me?" She called after the illumination. Following after it, she went though several more hallways, until coming upon a winding stone staircase. At the top of it, she found a shallow impression in the wall, with a torch and green turtle shell inside. "Hmm, I could have sworn I saw someone pass by here."

Then she heard her name called out from the dark room at the top of the staircase. This room was very dark; she couldn't see anything, save for a small hole in the ceiling that let in a little moonlight. "Zelda? Is that you?" Grabbing the torch Zelda turned her head to find her father inside one of several jail cells; the whole room itself was rather dank, with several puddles scattered around the floor and moss growing on the walls.

"Papa! How did you get here?" Running up to him, she felt his hands though the bars. "Your hands are like ice. Who did this to you?"

With a fearful look in his eyes, Mario put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "There is no time to explain, you must leave. Now!"

"No I'm not leaving without you!" But that was all she got to say before she was roughly grabbed from behind by a sharp-clawed hand. The force was so great, that Zelda dropped the torch in her hand, becoming doused by a puddle and thus leaving the room in pure darkness except for the small spot of moonlight.

"Run Zelda!"

A low gruff voice bellowed from the darkness. "What are you doing here in my castle?"

Zelda gathered her courage and replied, "I've come looking for my father. Why is he in this cell?"

"Because." The voice responded while moving around. "He is my prisoner."

"But he needs medicine; can't you see he's sick?"

"And he shouldn't have trespassed here!"

"Please let him free, I'll do anything!"

"There is nothing you can do."

"Wait." Zelda thought for a moment. "Take me in his stead."

"You…" the voice paused, as if contemplating. "You would…take his place?"

Mario did not like where this conversation was going. "No Zelda, I won't let you do this!"

Ignoring her father's pleas, Zelda continued. "If I did, would you let him go?"

"Yes." Then the voice came closer. "But, you must promise to stay here forever."

Zelda could make out a slight outline of the mysterious voice's figure. Sitting up and squinting her eyes, she said, "Come into the light."

At the request, the stranger crept towards her, revealing his true self. First she saw his big clawed feet, which made her eyes open wide. They only got wider as the monster walked fully into the light, showing all of his hideous glory. Smoke puffing out of his nose, the creature stared down at her with his burning red eyes.

Shrieking in terror, Zelda buried her head into her arm.

"Zelda, listen, I'm old, I've lived my life. Just leave me! Get away from here!" but his daughter didn't listen, and instead walked up to the monster with her eyes closed. With four words, she sealed her fate. "You have my word."

"Done!" Walking past her, the monster grabbed Mario out of his cell and ran off to outside the castle. Putting him inside an old carriage, he said angrily "Take him to the village." With these words the carriage came to life, carrying a screaming Mario away.

**Whew! Took me half a day, but I finally got this finished! Hope you liked it. Yeah, I've made Bamoog sort of a jerk, but hey, I'm trying to make this fic at least a little different from the movie! And Zelda finally meets Bowser, and so the plot thickens! More updates for others stories coming soon! (Hopefully).**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Well, even I never thought this would ever get updated again! And yet, here it is. I just couldn't really come up with anything for my latest stories, so I just scrolled though my older ones to pass the time, when I stumbled upon this. Figuring I spend some time on a different fiction, I continued it! Yeah, it took me TWO FULL DAYS just to write this rather short chapter. One thing is for sure, I'll never be a professional writer. Anyway, here you go my friends!**

Zelda cried softly in her dark cell. She was too traumatized to care about her dress getting soaked in the dirty puddle covering half the stone floor. _"I-I just signed my life away. I'm going to be stuck in this cell for the rest of my life, kept here by that, that monster."_

The maiden's only solace was that her father was set free. "I hope he makes it home alright, unless that creature…" But she quickly shook the horrible thought from her mind.

Just then, a flickering glow appeared in the depressing black atmosphere. It was the monster, holding a fiery torch and approaching the heavy grated metal door containing the shivering young woman. With an emotionless expression, he said gruffly, "Come, I shall take you to your room."

Zelda was rather confused. "But, am I not your prisoner?"

The scaly creature impatiently threw up his clawed hands. "Look, do you want to stay in the tower?"

"No." she answered back without a second thought.

"Then follow me."

Cautiously, Zelda followed close behind the monster, being more frightened of the looming darkness then him. After they exited the winding stair case and started walking down one of the upper hallways, the maiden decided to break the ice. "So, um, what's your name?"

The reptilian creature paused briefly before replying somewhat slowly, "Um, Bowser, yes, you may call me Bowser."

After turning into another long red-carpeted hallway, K.T. ran up to his master's side. "Sir, say something to her." He whispered softly.

"Like what?" Bowser growled, but not loud enough for Zelda to hear, who was keeping her head down in fear.

"Like something inviting, make her feel welcome!"

The Koopa tilted his head back and attempted to talk to the fair maiden. "I, uh, hope you like living here." He then glanced at his turtle subject, who gave him an encouraging sign to continue. Turning back his head to Zelda, he added, "This is your home now, so you can go anywhere you'd like; except for the West Wing."

This got Zelda's attention. "What's in the West-?"

"_It is forbidden!_" Bowser cut her of sharply while stomping the floor. A few small puffs of smoke escaped his flaring nostrils before he settled down and once more headed off to the inventor's daughter's appointed room.

Zelda decided it was best not to press the question further, seeing as how upset Bowser got over this mysterious "West Wing" _"I wonder what is in there that he doesn't want me to know about?" _But she didn't give the notion more thought as she walked a little faster to catch up with the scaly castle lord.

About a minute later, the three of them arrived at a tall double wooden door with beautiful engravings.

Bowser opened the door, motioning for Zelda to enter. "This is your room. My servants will tend to you in a minute."

K.T. then whispered into his master's ear. "Dinner sir, invite her to dinner!"

"Oh, and you will, join me for dinner, or else!" With a growl he shut the door behind him, leaving a distressed Zelda crying at the other side.

Bowser then stomped off to wait for his servants to prepare the evening meal, with K.T. following after him. "Uh sire, don't you think you were a little harsh with her?" The turtle asked.

The grouchy castle lord just stopped and stared at him with a look that oozed indifference. "Yeah well, who cares? I mean, she'll come around eventually." But in the back of his mind, Bowser did regret his behavior towards Zelda. Shaking his head of the troubling thoughts, the Koopa continued down the hallway in silence.

Meanwhile, Zelda had finally moved away from the door, and was now sniffling on the bed placed at the other end of the once-extravagant guest room. When she looked up from the pillow with her red tear stained eyes, the area looked like it hadn't had a dusting for quite some time. Besides the large bed with a draped canopy, there was a dresser with a tall mirror on top, a few chairs, and a few small end tables. The walls were a dark pink, although it was likely a lighter shade in the past due to the degeneration of the paint.

Zelda wiped away her tears. _"Well, at least I'm not stuck in that dungeon anymore. But still, I just can't fathom the fact that I'm going to be stuck here, forever…"_

"Why hello there dear!"

The maiden whirled her head around in confusion. "Who said that?"

In answer, a short, pink ball with a mouth, stubby arms and legs, pointed ears, an odd swirl of hair, and huge perfectly round blue eyes. "Hello honey!" The thing said sweetly.

Zelda opened her eyes wide. "Um, h-hello?"

The pink sphere bounced up and down a couple times. "Oh where are my manners. My name is Jigglypuff."

"Mines Zelda. But, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you?"

Jigglypuff giggled at this question. "Well, even I'm not sure. You see, I was originally a human. All of us were."

This answer surprised the maiden. "Really? What happened?"

The round being simply closed her eyes while dropping her face slightly. "It's not mine to say. All I can tell you is that a spell was cast upon this place, causing us to change forms."

Suddenly, another creature similar to Jigglypuff burst though the door into the room. It was slightly shorter then her, with dark blue oval-shaped eyes, big red round feet, and a darker shade of pink. "Hi mama!" he said with the voice of a young boy.

Jigglypuff turned around to face her son, who was holding a cup of tea in his stubby little arms. "Ah, thank you Kirby."

Kirby stared at the maiden for a minute while she slowly sipped the warm liquid. Leaning over, he whispered in his mother's ear, "Who is that mama? She's pretty."

"That is Zelda, the new guest who came in today. Now please mind your manners." She replied quietly.

"Oh!" Kirby said excitedly. "Hey Zelda, I'm Kirby! Want to see a cool trick?"

The girl nodded while the puffball took her cup of tea (after asking for it of course). Opening his mouth wide, he swallowed the item whole. A second later, he crouched down while a larger version of the cup appeared onto of his round head held on by a silver band. "Ta da!" He announced triumphantly.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Zelda exclaimed. The performance even lifted her spirits a little, enough for her to laugh.

Jigglypuff however, wasn't impressed. "Kirby, what did I tell you about doing that, especially in front of guests?"

"Oops, sorry mama…" he said ashamed at his mother's scolding.

"Well, we should be going now." Jigglypuff said. "Come Kirby, we need to prepare dinner."

"Oh goody, I love dinner time!" The puffball replied while running out the door.

"We shall see you again downstairs. You shall dine with Bowser, our master." With that final word, the maiden was left alone.

"_What? Dine with _him? _Why would he want to eat with me? I don't think I can do that, not after all I've been though as it is… Oh what to do?"_

Half an Hour Later

Bowser paced back and forth in front of the roaring fireplace, growling in impatience. "What's taking her so long? I told her to dine with me… Well!?" he shouted at K.T. and Jigglypuff, who were standing off nervously to the side.

"Sir you must remember, she lost her father and her freedom all in one day." The pink one reasoned.

"Master, don't you think she could be the one?" K.T. added.

"Oh course I think she is! I'm not an idiot!" Bowser snapped.

The turtle then waved his arms around. "Fantastic, then you fall in love with her, then she falls in love with you, and bam, the spell is broken!"

Jigglypuff shook her head in dismay. "I'm afraid that won't work; these kinds of things take time."

"Well then what are we going to do? The Fire Flower is almost faded."

Bowser slumped his shoulders. "Ugh who am I kidding. She's so beautiful and I'm, well… Well look at me!"

"But your majesty, you must get here to look past all that." The puffball offered gently.

The Koopa grumbled while looking away. "But I don't know how…"

Jigglypuff decided to take charge. "Well first off you can start by acting more presentable." Walking right up to Bowser's face, she commanded, "Stand up straight!"

"Yes, yes. And when she looks at you, give her a dashing smile!" K.T. added with a grin.

"And be polite."

"Act bold."

"But be sensitive."

Bowser was trying to follow all of his subject's advice, but he quickly held his head in annoyance. "Grrr…"

"Most importantly." The two said in unison. "You must control your temper!"

Just then, they heard the door starting to open. "Here she is!" K.T. announced.

Bowser looked up from his hands in anticipation, but was quickly disappointed to find Bamoog poking his head out from behind the door. "Well, where is she?" he asked while baring he sharp teeth threateningly.

The mushroom walked in looking very distressed. "Oh, uh, the girl. Yes well, she is um, not coming…"

"WHAT!?" Bowser immediately lost all self-control as he charged through the doors at full speed, rushing up the stairs with the others running after him. Within less then a minute, he arrived at Zelda's door and banged on it three times with his fist. "I told you to come down to dinner!"

"I'm not hungry." The maiden replied through the wood.

"You better come out or I'll, I'll burn down the door!" he threatened while small flames escaped his gaping mouth.

"Uh sir?" K.T. spoke up.

"What!?" the Koopa asked angrily.

"I think this may not be the best way to win her affections."

"But she isn't responding no matter what I do!"

"Maybe if you ask nicely, she'll open up to you." Jigglypuff suggested.

Bowser rolled his eyes, but did what she said. Putting on his best gentle voice (which is to say is not exactly gentle to begin with), he said, "I would be eternally grateful if you would join me for a meal, please."

"No."

"See! She just did it again!"

"Be more suave, you just sound grouchy." Bamoog quipped.

The reptilian being gave him a cold stare before facing the door once more. "I've had enough! You can't stay in there forever!"

"Yes I can!" Zelda shouted back defiantly.

"Fine! Then go ahead and STARRRRRVE!" Bowser roared so loudly that the entire hallway shook, showing his immense power. Turning to his servants, he added with frustration, "If she doesn't eat with me, then she doesn't eat at all!" With another roar he stormed off, leaving his disappointed subjects behind.

Reaching his bed chamber in the West Wing, Bowser started throwing things around in a rage. "I asked her nicely and she still rejected me!" Grabbing an unfortunate piece of furniture, he quickly incinerated it with his fiery breath. After tossing the ashes aside, he continued his ramble. "I mean what do I have to do, beg?" Spying a small hand mirror on a delicate-looking table, he swiftly grabbed it and said, "Show me the girl."

An image started to replace the Koopa's reflection, showing instead Zelda being comforted by Jigglypuff.

"The master isn't so mean and nasty, you just need to know him better." The puffball said.

Zelda just crossed her arms. "After what he did? No, I never want to know him, not now, not ever."

Bowser slowly put the mirror back on the table, his face emanating the essence of despair. "Sigh, it's no use. She'll never see me as anything, but a monster…" Glancing up from his hands, he noticed the Fire Flower in its glass case, starting to flicker from its bright orange glow. Sinking down to the floor, Bowser knew he was running out of time. "It's hopeless…"

**It sure was a nice change of pace writing something other then my two main fics. But don't worry, I haven't abandoned "On A Wing and A Smasher" I'm just having trouble figuring out what's going to happen. I don't know what or when the next update is going to be, but hopefully soon. But remember, this is me we're talking about. Until we meet again, peace!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**I was juggling this story a lot over whether or not I should finish it. By this point I might as well. This will probably be my main focus until it's completed, just so you know. **

Zelda stayed inside her room for the next hour, passing the time by staring at the intricate paintings on the ceiling. But having a curious spirit, she eventually decided to leave and explore the vast castle.

Meanwhile K.T. and Bamoog were standing in one of the many hallways. "I tell you this, if Master can't win her over soon, we'll be stuck like this forever!" The mushroom declared.

"Yes, but we can't stop hoping either my friend. There is still a chance they'll both come around."

"Well it certainly doesn't help that she has been staying inside her room since she got here!" Bamoog shouted back in irritation.

At that moment K.T. happened to look over Bamoog's head, and noticed the young maiden slowly walked down the steps, oblivious to the servants' presence. "Look, she has emerged!"

Zelda carefully walked down the stairs, not making a sound, save for her nervous breathing. _"I'm so hungry; I wonder where the kitchen is?" _She peered into several of the downstairs rooms, only to find they were all just full of dusty furniture, fading paintings, and long-dead indoor plant pots. _"Surely there must be food in here somewhere." _Then the maiden's nose caught a delicious scent. Following it, she eventually found the kitchen, where she found Jigglypuff talking to what looked like a fireball with eyes, mouth, and makeshift arms. Staying just behind the door, Zelda listened in to the conversation.

"I can't believe this." The fireball said in an angry voice. "I've slaved all evening over this pot of stew, and now it's just gone to waste!"

"Now, now we've all had a rough day. Non more so then she has." Jigglypuff said in a soft tone.

Just then K.T. and his fungal companion strode into the room from the side door that led to the dining room. "Listen everyone, we just saw the girl coming out of bedroom!" the turtle exclaimed in urgency.

Jigglypuff jumped to attention. "Well let's not just stand around here, go find her! The poor thing must be looking for something to eat."

"Actually," Zelda announced as the came out from behind the door, startling everyone, "that stew smells awfully good."

"Splendid!" Jigglypuff said happily, her big round eyes bouncing in her head. Turning to her cohorts, she exclaimed, "Quickly everyone, set the plates, stoke the fire, and break the china!"

Bamoog however did not like this at all. "But, remember what the Master said!"

K.T. bopped the mushroom over the head. "Oh come on now, she's our guest! The least we can do is offer her a meal."

After a satisfying dinner of stew, mashed potatoes, and pudding, Zelda clapped her hands in appreciation. "That was wonderful!"

Bamoog let out a loud yawn. Glancing at a nearby clock, he announced, "Yes well, look at the time. Off to bed you go!"

But the girl was far too curious to sleep at this point. "Oh I couldn't possibly now; I'd actually like to see more of this magnificent place if you don't mind."

The fungus was about to say something, but K.T. quickly cut him off. "But of course! We'll give you the proper tour! Right my friend?" The turtle nudged at Bamoog, who simply rolled his eyes in annoyance.

For the next hour, K.T. and Bamoog showed Zelda around, with Chain Chomp bouncing around after them. The mushroom was surprisingly enthusiastic when it came to pointing out historical facts about the various objects throughout the castle, showing he had a passion for things of old. Things were going well, until the group came up to a staircase situated at the very back of the building, the lighting around it being much dimmer then elsewhere.

Zelda started to head towards the red carpeted steps, when her two tour guides swiftly ran ahead and stopped right in front of her. "What is up there?" the girl asked while craning her neck to see more of the mysterious area.

"Oh nothing at all." Bamoog quickly said.

"Yes, like he said." K.Y. added nervously.

"Certainly nothing interesting in the West Wing whatsoever." The fungus then quickly shut his mouth, realizing his mistake.

Zelda got even more curious. "Ah, so that is the West Wing."

"Nice going genius." K.T. whispered to Bamoog. Turning to Zelda, he spoke in a normal tone. "Wait, you can't go up there!"

"And why not?"

"Ah, well because, there are so many other rooms to see!" Bamoog announced.

"Why yes, there is the cellar, the gardens, the library,"

"You have a library?" Zelda asked in interest.

The other two quickly smiled. "Of course! It has lots of books!"

"Many books, mountains of books!"

As K.T. and Bamoog went on, they started heading toward the room in question, Chain Chomp following suit. However, Zelda stayed behind. Once her tour guides were out of sight, she went up the stairs to the West Wing.

The West Wing was rather different from the rest of the castle. For one, it was much messier, with torn fabrics and broken statues littering the dark hallway. Zelda shivered as she timidly continued, the eyes are stone gargoyles situated on the walls seeming to watch her every move. At the end of the hall was a massive wooden door with heavy brass knockers. With her soft hand, she carefully cracked the door open just enough for her to slip inside.

This room was undoubtedly the most cluttered of the entire building, with piles of broken furniture strewn throughout, with some pieces looking as if they had a run in with a flamethrower. There were almost no paintings to speak of, except for one. When Zelda came up to a giant one lying propped against a wall, she noticed it depicted a young man. She couldn't see the face very well since there were multiple slashes right in the middle, but she did see his hair, which appeared to be a light blue, matching the eyes. "_He looks handsome. I wonder who he was."_

Before the maiden could observe it more, something else caught her eye. Looking across the room, on a small glass table, Zelda saw an orange flower, glowing almost as bright as a flaming torch. Upon closer inspection, it was covered with a glass tube, and the flower itself, oddly, had a small pair of unmoving eyes.

"_What a strange flower." _The girl pondered. Reaching her hand out, she removed the glass casing, holding it in one hand; her other one mere inches from touching it. The very next moment, Zelda heard movement from behind. Whipping her head around, her eyes widened in fear.

Bowser had just awoken from a nap, only to find the precious Fire Flower about to be ruined. Pouncing right in front of Zelda, he swiftly grabbed the glass from her, placing back over the bloom. After doing so, the Koopa glared at the girl, anger clearly evident on his scaly face. "What are you doing here!?" he growled, smoke pouring from his nostrils.

"Pl-please, I didn't mean any harm!" the maiden pleaded in terror. She had never seen the monster so enraged.

"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE!?"

"I'm, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" Poor Zelda had no idea what to do; normally she was strong in tense times, but now she felt as frozen as the icicles hanging over the dusty windows outside.

"JUST GET OUT!" In his rage, Bowser started throwing objects around the room, small flames starting to peek out from his menacing mouth. "GET OUT!"

Finally Zelda could feel her legs again, and bolted out of the room at full speed. Once she left, the Koopa realized his mistake, but it was too late. "Now I've done it. She'll never love me now…"

The maiden kept running at full throttle, never stopping. Just before reaching the main door, she went past Bamoog and K.T., who were at this point searching for Zelda's whereabouts. "Hey, were you going?" the turtle asked kindly.

With tears threatening to fall down her cheeks, Zelda replied as she ran past, "I'm leaving; I just can't stay here any longer!"

"But-but please, don't-"Bamoog started to say, but Zelda was already though the main door.

Rushing across the long wide bridge, Zelda climbed onto Epona's back, who had been waiting patiently beside the fence since her rider had left. "Let's go Epona!" the maiden urged. The horse quickly sped through the dark forest, when several Bulborbs started to chase after them. The poor animal was spooked beyond control, and before Zelda could get a good grip on the reins she was flung off into the cold snow as Epona crashed into some low tree branches, the reins getting caught in them in the process. Clearly immobilized, Epona started kicking around in a feeble attempt to ward off the Bulborbs that were slowly closing in.

Zelda got up from the snow, horrified at the many grub-dogs that started to surround the frightened horse. Jumping up to her mount's aid, she grabbed a large branch from the ground and started swinging. "Get back! Go away!" She cried.

The vicious creatures seemed intimidated at first, but quickly became emboldened and jumped and snapped at the maiden. Try as she might, Zelda couldn't fend them off. At last she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. The Bulborbs, sensing their chance, advanced closer, till one jumped in the air, straight for Zelda's face. "Ah!" closing her eyes, the girl waited for the fatal bite, but it never came. Instead, she heard a loud familiar roar. "Huh?" Opening her eyes, they immediately widened at amazement.

It was Bowser. He had grabbed the Bulborb and threw it a good ten feet away just before it could attack the vulnerable maiden. His mouth spewed flames as he stood between the predators and their intended prey. "Back off punks."

At first, the grub-dogs weren't sure what to do. But then, almost as one unit, they charged at the Koopa, mouths agape. Bowser roared as he started throwing the offending animals off his back with his strong clawed hands. His hard spiked shell was keeping him safe from behind while the flames he breathed kept the Bulborbs at bay in the front. Seeing an opening, he charged headfirst toward a group of them, throwing them into the air with his horns. And yet still the hungry creatures persisted in their attack. Bowser responded by spewing more white hot flames, his sharp white teeth glistening as the snow around him melted faster then the winter's blowing breeze. After he ran out of fire, some of the grub-dogs managed to get a biting hold on the Koopa's weak spot, his stomach.

Roaring in a mixture of pain and anger, the Koopa ripped the monsters off his body, blood gushing from his belly, before tossing them aside as if they were pieces of paper. Finally, the Bulborbs decided Bowser was too tough an opponent, and ran off to find more easy prey.

After it was all over, Bowser looked over to Zelda, who this whole time was just standing there in shock and awe. Giving her one last exhausted glace, the Koopa collapsed into the deep snow, crimson liquid pooling around him. Zelda turned around for a moment, preparing to just leave. But then she looked back to her fallen rescuer. _"I can't just leave him here to die; not after what he just did for me."_

Having Epona kneel down, she carefully hoisted the wounded Bowser onto Epona's back before heading back to the castle.

"Ugh, what happened?" Bowser started to lift his tired eyelids. The last thing he remembered has falling into the snow after defending Zelda from certain death. After blinking a few times, he saw that he was sitting on his favorite chair in front of the fireplace back in his castle, several of his subjects surrounding him with deep concern on their faces.

"Oh good, you've awoken." Bowser turned his head to the side, where he found the young maiden bending over a large bowl filled with a white liquid. In her delicate hands she was wringing out a small wash towel. "Here, let me take care of that." Slowly she started reaching for the Koopa's belly, which was still trickling blood.

"OOOWWWW!" the castle lord yelled in pain as he jostled in his chair. The cloth that Zelda pressed against his wounds stung worse then a wasp. The maiden stood back, not in fear, but respect. "That hurts!" Bowser added in frustration.

Zelda, surprisingly, shouted right back. "Well maybe if you'd stay still it won't hurt as much!"

Bowser, never one to lose in an argument, countered, "If you hadn't run away, this wouldn't have happened!"

"If you hadn't frightened me I wouldn't have run away!" the girl shot back with a stern look.

The Koopa seemed at a loss for words for a moment, but then said with a smug grin, "Well you shouldn't have been in the West Wing!"

The next sentence Zelda said finished the argument right then and there. "And you should learn to control your temper!"

Bowser's servants cowered back in fear, for they knew what happened when someone mentioned the Master's temperament. But to their amazement, Bowser just reluctantly allowed Zelda to continue her ministrations, putting his hand on his chin in annoyance.

"Now, this might sting a little." Zelda warned as she put the cloth back on Bowser's belly.

"Errr!" Bowser started. But he quickly quieted down.

While still dabbing the bite marks, Zelda looked up at the Koopa's face. "By the way, thank you, for saving my life."

For the first time, Bowser had a feeling he never felt before. It felt, peaceful. Looking down at the maiden, he replied softly, "You're welcome."

**Man it was epic writing that battle scene, especially since I was listening to a remix of Bowser's Road theme while doing so. Next chapter we will come back to Captain Falcon and Wario, who we haven't seen since the beginning.**


End file.
